Cristiano Ronaldo fired a stunning hat-trick to pull Real Madrid back from a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Wolfsburg and into the Champions League semifinals.
The Portugal striker
scored twice within 88 seconds in the first half and added a late freekick in a
3-0 victory at the Bernabeu to keep alive Real's hopes of an 11th success in
Europe's top club competition.
Similarly, Manchester City beat
Paris St. Germain 1-0 with a goal from Kevin de Bruyne at Etihad Stadium to win
3-2 on aggregate and reach its first Champions League semifinal.
Spanish giant Real
Madrid was teetering on the brink of a Champions League exit after the
first-leg shock in Germany, but an inspired Ronaldo wiped out the deficit in
two devastating first-half minutes to close to within two matches of a second
final appearance in three years.
The 31-year-old struck
from Dani Carvajal's cross on 16 minutes, and 88 seconds later rose high into
the Madrid sky to direct a glancing header into the net off a corner from the
left.
With the tie still in
the balance after Real's Sergio Ramos watched his header bounce off the post
sideways along the goal-line, Ronaldo struck again.
Luka Modric was felled
on the edge of the box and Ronaldo stroked his free-kick through a gap in the
Wolfsburg wall for his third Champions League hat-trick this season and fifth
in all competitions.
A solitary away goal
would still have sealed it for Wolfsburg but Madrid held on to secure a sixth
straight semifinal appearance.
Ronaldo took his tally
to 16 goals in 10 Champions League games this term -- one off his own record of
17 set in the 2013-14 season -- and 34 strikes in 36 matches in the knockout stages
of the tournament.
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